Military Vaccine Mandates - 1 of 2 FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2021, file photo released by the Department of Defense, Hickam's 15th Medical Group prepares the first mass vaccination for COVID-19 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The military must begin getting the COVID-19 vaccine immediately, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021, ordering service leaders to "establish timelines for implementation." (U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony Nelson Jr./Department of Defense via AP)1 of 2 FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2021, file photo released by the Department of Defense, Hickam's 15th Medical Group prepares the first COVID- . Bulk coverage 19 at the Pearl-Hickam Joint Port. The military must begin getting the COVID-19 vaccine immediately, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021, ordering service leaders to "establish timelines for implementation." (U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony Nelson Jr./Department of Defense via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Military personnel should begin getting a COVID-19 vaccine immediately, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo Wednesday, ordering service leaders to "set timelines for action."
Military Vaccine Mandates
More than 800,000 service members have not yet received their photos, according to Pentagon data. And now that Pfizer's vaccine has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Defense is adding it to the list of required shots that soldiers must get as part of their military service.
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Austin's memo does not outline a specific timeline for completing coverage. But it says the military services will have to report regularly on their progress. A senior defense official said Austin made it clear to the service that he expected them to move quickly, and that it would be completed in weeks, not months.
"To defend this nation, we need a healthy and ready force," Austin said in the memo. "After careful consultation with medical experts and military leadership, and with the support of the president, I have determined that mandatory vaccination against the coronavirus disease ... is necessary to protect the military and defend the American people."
Soldiers will have access to their Pfizer images at their bases and from their commands around the world. The Pentagon has said it has enough vaccine stocks to meet demand. Individual service members can also go out and get any other COVID vaccines on their own.
However, complying with the vaccination order can be a challenge for the national guard forces who are spread across the country and only gather once a month for their required training.
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According to the Pentagon, there are more than 1.3 million active duty troops and nearly 800,000 in the Guard and Reserve. And by August 18, more than 1 million active duty, guard and reserve personnel were fully vaccinated and nearly 245,000 more had received at least one shot.
Senior military leaders have pushed their forces to be vaccinated through a variety of public appeals and through social media and other campaigns. But — as with the American population — many service members are reluctant.
Defense officials said it's important for soldiers to get the vaccine because they live and work in close proximity to explosives that could weaken the U.S. military's ability to defend America.
Military officials said they did not have a specific number of how many Guard soldiers still need to be vaccinated, and the Pentagon only gives the total number of active duty, Guard and reserve soldiers in one figure.
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Guard officials have said all along that it is very difficult to determine how many civilian soldiers have been vaccinated. And only now will they be able to start tracking that number more accurately as members of the Guard report to training this weekend.
Austin's decision to order the vaccine fulfills a vow he made earlier this month to require it by mid-September, or as soon as it gets FDA licensure, whichever comes first. His move mirrors similar moves by governments and companies around the world as nations grapple with the highly contagious delta strain that has sent U.S. businesses soaring to heights not seen since last summer.
Hospitalizations and deaths are increasing among the military. In the past month, the death toll of service members rose from 25 to 34 - by more than a third.
"Our Power Vaccine will save lives," Austin's memo reads. "Thank you for your attention to this important mission."
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US troops are already required to get as many as 17 vaccinations, depending on where they are deployed. The requirements - which include vaccinations for smallpox, hepatitis, polio and influenza - also allow for a number of temporary and permanent exemptions for medical or administrative reasons.
Austin noted in the memo that the new requirements would allow a tax exemption consistent with current policy for all other vaccines. Permanent exemptions include adverse clinical reactions to vaccination, immunodeficiency such as HIV infection, and "evidence of existing immunity" by serological antibody test or "documentation of previous infection or presumed natural infection."
There are also administrative exemptions, including one for religious reasons. Religious exemptions are granted by the military services according to their policy, and appear to be very rare. The decision is made by commanders based on consultation with medical staff and chaplains.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a press release Wednesday that commanders are expected to carry out the vaccination order "tactfully and with some compassion." Service members who refuse, he said, will have the opportunity to meet with medical staff and their own leadership to ensure soldiers understand the risks to themselves and their colleagues if they don't take the vaccine.
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Asked about specific penalties for noncompliance, Kirby said commanders have "a lot of tools" to use. "This is a lawful order and we fully expect our soldiers to follow the lawful order," he added.
The Navy and Marine Corps said they have had no requests for religious exemptions for other vaccines in recent years, and the Air Force said there have been few. The military could not provide any data.
More than half of the US population is fully vaccinated with one of the country's three options, from Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.
The Pentagon decision only applies to the Pfizer vaccine. Moderna has also applied to the FDA for full approval of its vaccine. J&J said it expects to do so later this year.
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